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Bobby Petrino is the new coach at Western Kentucky. / Associated Press

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The wintry conditions Wednesday weren't the only snow job perpetrated on the public.

Western Kentucky offered itself as a poor little program gallantly struggling with the difficult transition of losing its head coach to another suitor. The Hilltoppers faced Central Michigan in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl with an interim staff.

Oh, woe was them.

Give me a break.

Western Kentucky was less about its 24-21 loss to the Chippewas at Ford Field, and more about what it will become from this point forward.

It provided Bobby Petrino with a soft landing. And Petrino's one of the truly sleazy figures in sport.

Getting another FBS head coaching opportunity just eight months following his disgraceful exit from Arkansas is somehow the man's penance.

A motorcycle accident exposed the layers of a deception that involved Petrino not only having an affair, but also hiring his mistress for a position in the Arkansas athletic department for which she wasn't remotely qualified -- and then lying to his supervisors about it when confronted.

The Hilltoppers have told everyone in the weeks since hiring Petrino that there's a teachable lesson which could prove most valuable when going to recruits' home and convincing Mom and Dad that only a person who's experienced the depths can instruct young men on the discipline and commitment necessary to rise back up.

Oh, really?

The message sent is the exact opposite.

It tells these athletes that as long as you possess a special talent, others will fall over each other making excuses for your irresponsible conduct.

Western Kentucky athletic director Todd Stewart said recently that Petrino admitted that he made a mistake and was committed to redeeming his personal reputation as well as his professional career.

"But this is a country of second chances," Stewart said.

Oh, really?

Petrino quit on the Atlanta Falcons with three games left in the 2007 season to take the Arkansas head coaching job. And he didn't even possess the decency to tell his players to their faces. Instead, he put letters in their lockers telling them he was leaving.

What warmth.

The man's word is not worth a plugged nickel.

But he wins.

And that trumps all else.

There are probably more than a few Arkansas fans who were indignant over Petrino's blatant disregard for his family, faith and employers back in April after they canned him who probably now have second thoughts after John L. Smith replaced him and guided a top-10 team at season's start into the nation's biggest underachiever this season.

Petrino will win at Western Kentucky. He's already amassing some junior college players to come in next season when the Hilltoppers will probably be more successful than they were this season. And Petrino will be hailed as a miracle worker.

And don't be shocked if he's one and done with the Hilltoppers before getting another opportunity at a bigger school.

Once again, the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl couldn't attract a Big Ten team per its contractual arrangement with the conference. But this time, it wasn't a question of teams finding an excuse short of their players developing a chronic case of scurvy to avoid the game. The Big Ten didn't have enough bowl eligible teams this year.

It's just as well.

It's more enjoyable having Central Michigan as a steady participant. When the Chippewas make the 2 1/2-hour drive southeast to downtown Detroit, they usually contribute to one of the better shows of the bowl season.

And Wednesday's 24-21 Central win was no different.

Of course, there was this added impetus: The Chippewas had the chance to stick it to a program which sadly contributed further to the overall slimy taste that pretty much captured this year in sports.